


Do What it Takes to Survive

by shesasurvivor



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Pre-Hunger Games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24399100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shesasurvivor/pseuds/shesasurvivor
Summary: Haymitch doesn't see the point in preparing for his interviews. His mentor needs to convince him otherwise.
Relationships: Lucy Gray Baird/Corliolanus Snow
Comments: 14
Kudos: 124





	Do What it Takes to Survive

Stupid. That's what these Games were. They were stupid. The whole nation knew it, too, except maybe these equally stupid people in the Capitol. Haymitch thought this to himself grumpily as he headed down the hallway for one on one time with his mentor. He was going to be dead in a few days anyway, so what did it matter if people liked him or not?

Annoyed, he opened the designated door and found himself in a darkened room that was all but empty. He knew he was supposed to work with his mentor on his interview tonight with Flickerman, but there was no sign of her.

Haymitch arranged his features to show it didn't matter to him that she wasn't there he crossed over to a seat facing the opposite wall, and sat down. She was a silly, vain thing anyway. She'd won her Hunger Games well before he was born, but he had grown up watching her annual display every year. 

District 12 had little respect for the woman, anyhow. She's failed to produce a victor in all the time she'd been a mentor. Instead, it seemed she opted to spend her time seeking out Capitol company. From what Haymitch had heard, she never really belonged to 12 in the first place. Covey, was what they called her. Traveling performers that got stuck in the district when the war ended. It explained her lack of loyalty, her showboating. Even her frequent appearances with President Snow himself.

The door opened behind him, and Haymitch couldn't help a slight exhale of relief. Well, nice of her to make an appearance, at least. The raven-haired woman crossed to the seat opposite Haymitch, a mug of something in hand. What was it? Could she actually be drinking this early in the day? No, he got a sniff of the rich aroma. He'd only smelled it a few times before, mostly right here in the training center. Coffee. 

As she settled in, Haymitch finally got a real look at her. Dark circles lined her wrinkled eyes. Her beauty was well known across Panem, but now that she sat here in front of him, Haymitch thought she mostly looked tired. 

"Well, let's get a good look at you, darling," the woman said, taking him in. Haymitch bristled at the nickname, then tried not to squirm as she examined him. 

Seemingly satisfied, she took a sip of coffee. "So, what's your story?" She asked.

Haymitch snorted. "I don't see what that matters."

She gave him a tired smile. "You want the audience to like you."

"Who says?" He shot back.

She gave him an easy smile. "I do."  
Haymitch crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, rolling his eyes as he looked away. He didn't even bother to hide his disbelief. Or his exasperation. "Yeah, well, I guess you would know."

"You're annoyed with me." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact. Haymitch was now also annoyed at how easily she called him out but tried not to let it show. He refused to feel bad. Not when the only mentor District 12 had insisted on galavanting with the Capitol elite, abandoning her tributes in the process. He was on his own in the arena, and he knew it. 

Haymitch decided to own it. "You spend all your time in the Capitol with the president. You don't care what happens to us."

Now it was her turn to sit back, her eyes clouding over. Had he actually hurt her? The thought seemed bizarre to Haymitch. Lucy Gray Baird was the life of every Capitol party, and she seemed to relish in it. 

"You're right," she admitted quietly. Her entire demeanor was different from what Haymitch was used to. Instead of the jovial free spirit he was accustomed to, it seemed she had been replaced by a far more contemplative version of herself.

After a heavy moment of silence, Lucy Gray brought the mug of coffee to her lips for another sip. As she did, one of her sleeves slipped down her arm, exposing her bare skin. Haymitch's eyes immediately noticed a band of black and blue that encircled her wrist. A bruise. It looked as though it came from someone grabbing her roughly, maybe as she had struggled to break free.

Not sure how to process this information, he quickly darted his eyes back to her face, where he found Lucy Gray watching him watch her bruise. In that brief instant, they silently came to an understanding.

"In the Games," Lucy Gray explained, and Haymitch was certain she wasn't just talking about the arena, "it's important to know how to stay alive." 

**Author's Note:**

> Whaaaaaaat’s up everyone? Less than 24 hours after finishing The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I already have my first drabble written, lol. I have this whole AU worked out in my head where Snow forces Lucy Gracy to remain his mistress while he marries someone more “appropriate” to be his wife, and she’s forced to spend time with him when she’s in the Capitol to be a mentor. I might write it out in different oneshots and drabbles set throughout different time periods.
> 
> Anyways, I wanted to explore what it might have been like if she had been around to mentor Haymitch. Maybe I will add to this down the road, because the thought of Lucy Gray Baird as a mentor fascinates me.
> 
> (And yes, the title is a Hamilton reference.)


End file.
